On World Oceans Day, and alongside the United Nation’s (UN) Ocean Conference in New York, USA, the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) has today registered its commitment to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14; the SDG 14 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources. By aligning its work with SDG 14, the GSI can ensure it is driving the farmed salmon sector towards continuous improvements in sustainability, implementing real and measurable change to support the future biodiversity of our oceans, and to help safeguard the planet. At the 2015 UN Forum, Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Now is the time to mobilize the global business community as never before. The case is clear. Realizing the SDGs will improve the environment for doing business and building markets. There are huge opportunities for responsible companies to deliver solutions.”1
“Responsibility and accountability are very important for us,” said Gerardo Balbontin, Co-Chair of the GSI and CEO of Blumar SA. “By aligning with the SDGs, we are able to identify, and effectively incorporate, the important actions we can be working on to support the SDGs, and then transparently report on the progress we are making.”
Recognizing the critical need for progress towards the SDGs, and in particular the importance of the aquaculture industry in guaranteeing the sustainable use of marine resources, the members of the GSI have committed to the following:
· Utilizing the GSI model of pre-competitive collaboration to facilitate knowledge transfer and the sharing of best practices to promote accelerated improvements
· Transparently reporting on environmental and social performance via an annual industry-wide Sustainability Report
· Driving innovation through continued partnerships and sharing of expertise
· Supporting knowledge transfer from salmon aquaculture to developing aquaculture sectors to drive accelerated improvements across the wider industry
From identifying that acting individually will not generate the progress needed to protect the world’s oceans at the scale or speed needed, the GSI members have committed to working pre-competitively, with their partners and other industry groups, to promote accelerated progress.
“About 70% of the planet is water and yet it provides less than 5% of our food,” said Per Grieg, Co-Chair of the GSI and Chairman of Grieg Seafood ASA. “Considering the population growth and its increased economic development demand for food, the oceans will offer a huge potential solution in feeding the future 9 billion people – this makes it even more important that we make every effort to ensure we balance growth with conservation. The farmed salmon sector has already made significant improvements in reducing the amount of marine ingredients used in the feed, reducing the feed conversion ratio from 2:1 in the 1980s to 1.15–1.3:1 now, and through continued innovation we hope to improve this further. Sustainable aquaculture can play a very important role in feeding the world, and responsible use of marine resources can protect them for future generations.”
The GSI’s complete voluntary commitment to the implementation of the SDG 14 will be posted on the Ocean Conference website shortly, and will also be included in the final Ocean Conference report.
The SDGs were established as part of the UN’s 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, and the 17 goals are designed to steer the world onto a more sustainable and resilient path – protecting both the future of humanity and the planet.
For more information on the Ocean Conference and the commitments, please visit https://oceanconference.un.org/
References:
1 Secretary-General's remarks at the United Nations Private Sector Forum, 26 September 2015; https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2015-09-26/secretary-generals-remarks-united-nations-private-sector-forum [accessed May 31, 2017]
ABOUT GSI
The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) is a leadership initiative established in 2013 by global farmed salmon producers focused on making significant progress on industry sustainability. Today, GSI comprises 13 companies – representing approximately 50% of the global salmon production industry – that are fully committed to realizing a shared goal of providing a highly sustainable source of healthy food to feed a growing global population, whilst minimizing our environmental footprint, and continuing to improve our social contribution.
GSI member companies are Australis S.A.; Bakkafrost; Blumar; Cermaq; Compañía Pesquera Camanchaca; Empresas AquaChile; Grieg Seafood ASA; Huon Aquaculture; Los Fiordos; Marine Harvest; Multiexport Foods S.A.; New Zealand King Salmon; and Ventisqueros. GSI companies have a presence in Australia, Canada, Chile, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK, and make significant contributions to the economies of these respective countries.
In addition, the GSI also has a number of Associate Members in both the pharmaceutical and feed industries, including Benchmark Holdings plc; BioMar; Cargill; Elanco; Merck, Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) Animal Health; PHARMAQ; Salmofood; and Skretting.
For further information on the GSI, please visit HERE
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